Superyachts may swamp Air Force

By FIONA ROTHERHAM

Vancouver-based Sovereign Yachts (Canada) is one of the frontrunners to set up a superyacht yard at Hobsonville Air Base in West Auckland.

Hobsonville is one of several military bases earmarked for closure in a 1997 defence real estate review now being dusted off by Defence Minister Mark Burton.

He is widely expected to recommend selling Hobsonville when he reports to the cabinet in the next few weeks.

The Air Force is thought to be more concerned about retaining the nearby Whenuapai base than Hobsonville's prime real estate.

Hobsonville was valued in the 1997 review at $65 million and is attractive to boat-builders because of its deepwater access.

Sovereign Yachts is owned by Kiwi Bill Lloyd, who brought his latest flagship, Sovereign Lady, to New Zealand for the America's Cup.

He is currently doubling the size of his Canadian yard and also wants to establish one in New Zealand to build boats over 35m. Sovereign has orders for five boats over 35m that could be built in New Zealand providing the company gets a quick answer on Hobsonville.

"We're lobbying the Government and have a bit of leverage as we'd be creating 250 to 300 jobs and bringing in excess of $US50 [$100 million] a year in overseas earnings," said Sovereign's NZ spokesman, Captain Lance Sheppard.

The Canadian company is seeking a longterm lease it would share with local marine industry players as it could take up to a year to sort out ownership issues.

However, a Defence spokesman said a lease of surplus land had to go through the same lengthy disposal process as a sale.

Land acquired under the Public Works Act must be offered back to its original owners first. Local iwi claims also needed to be considered.

Trade NZ has been negotiating with the Government for weeks on behalf of local boatbuilders wanting to set up a superyacht cluster of industries on part of the site.

Sensation Yachts wants to establish a separate development company to create a boatyard, residential subdivision and other manufacturing uses over the rest of the base.

Waitakere mayor Bob Harvey has set up a mayoral taskforce, chaired by former Tourism Board chairman Bryan Mogridge, to produce a plan for the Hobsonville site that aligns business and community interests.

That plan, incorporating a variety of uses such as boat-building and film-making, is unlikely to be completed before the cabinet makes its decision in the next four to five weeks.

But Enterprise Waitakere chief executive Clyde Rogers said the plan would go to the Government long before ownership issues had been resolved.